Right now I have three grills or smokers. I have gone through some different grills in the past and the three I have now are perfect for backyard cook outs. I dream of adding a larger smoker to the mix so I can easily throw on 10 racks of ribs for a big group of friends, but I can do about anything else using one or two of these fine grilling machines. If you are looking to buy a grill or smoker, I highly recommend all of these. If you have the time and skills, you can even build yourself an outdoor kitchen area, integrating a few grills. This is my current setup….
Weber One Touch 22.5″ Kettle
If you are going to buy one grill and you have limited funds, this is the one you want. There is nothing out there that compares to the quality, performance, and versatility of this fine grill. With a little practice you can sear steaks at high temperatures, roast chickens, and slow smoke ribs all on this setup. It also has a lot of accessories available. My favorite is the rotisserie add-on that gives you the ability to cook meat while it self-bastes. Self basting = deliciousness. You want to try this.
Weber Genesis S-330
There are a lot of quality gas grills out there. I still choose Weber because I find their grills produce even heat and temperature is easily controlled. In the past I have found cheap grills burn about anything you put on them, whether on low, medium, or high. I like the Genesis series because they have adequate cooking space for large groups and they offer some of the premium features I value, such as stainless steel throughout and an extra burner for searing steaks. I would shoot for stainless steel exteriors, as the color enameled grills are tough to clean. My last one was black, and it never looked clean no matter how hard a scrubbed. Go with stainless if you can. I removed the ‘wings’ of the grill, so I could slide it into my DIY Outdoor Kitchen setup. For under $1000, this is a fantastic grill that will last a long time. All sorts of accessories to try out for this grill as well.
Large Big Green Egg
You can do about anything on a big green egg with the right accessories. I primarily use this as a smoker on a regular basis. It is how I have it setup most of the time, so it’s always ready to roll for a long weekend smoking session. The best thing about the Big Green Egg is the temperature control and the ability to perform long smoking sessions with a small amount of charcoal. Because it retains heat so well, it does not use a lot of airflow during the smoking, so meat stays more moist. I never use a water pan or anything for moisture… this thing just works.
Hi there. – can you tell me anything about this island set up? You called it a DIY island – so I’m assuming you built it yourself. I’ve been scouring TV a internet trying to come up with plans to do something just like this for my Genesis S-330 and my Kamado. Any insights would be appreciated
I have a few sheets with rough framing plans for this setup. I will shoot you an email with the plans.
I have the same request, if you wouldn’t mind sharing the plans you have.
Okeedokee…. I just asked you to send plans for the BGE table, then I saw this. I also would be interested in purchasing detailed plans for the grill/BGE table. I’m from Omaha and am heading to BURBANK to build one for my daughter and son-in-law.
hi john. i resent the email to your AOL email account with the original table plans. sometimes they get filtered into your spam folder, so check that if you do not see the email from me. I do not have detailed plans ready for the gas grill / big green egg combo. Perhaps this winter. thanks – keegan
I loved the videos on the Rec Teq 700 you had made but don’t see it in your current setup. Are you no longer a fan of the RT-700? I was considering buying one myself.
Hey Justin, you are correct.. I did move on from the Rec Tec 700, but mainly because I wanted to move on from pellet smokers. I just have more fun with charcoal fired smokers and I like the end product a little better. I still love the quality of the req teqs. I would get one again if I wanted a pellet smoker. Love the look… best in class for pellet smokers too. Got get one… and then add a green egg too… ha ha
Hi, I’m creating a BBQ surround, around my Weber Genesis freestanding grill. I see that you’ve used the same grill and have removed the side tables from the grill. I just put my grill together and left the side tables off to place in the surround but I noticed that there is a large open space on each side of the grill. Did you line the opening where the grill fit into and if so, with what? Cement board and tile?
I used aluminum sheeting I purchased at Lowes or Home Depot. Cement board would actually be a pretty good choice, but it might absorb quite a bit of heat too? I wanted something that would reflect the heat, so I thought the aluminum was a pretty good choice and never had any scary incidents with it. If you wanted to go overboard, then perhaps cement board covered with aluminum would be good. I have used galvanized flashing for a similar setup as well.